A rabble-rouser with burn scars marring his neck and face. A runaway slave who limps and mutters to himself. Another exile, this one riddled with pockmarks and accompanied by a dirty seagull. A dowser who braids her hair in elaborate patterns threaded with blue flowers.What do these outcasts-these reluctant witches and warlocks and shamans-have in common? They're about to find out.And it will cause them to love, fight, and kill each other.Please note:- An earlier version of this novella won an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future Contest in 2015.- The current iteration doesn't fully resolve on its own-it's meant as a lead-in to The Red Wraith (a full-length novel set in an alternate Early America). Nick Wisseman lives in the woods of Michigan with his wife, kids, ten dogs, sixty cats, and forty horses. (The true number of pets is an order of magnitude smaller, but most days it feels like more.) He's not quite sure why he loves writing twisted fiction, but there's no stopping the weirdness once he's in front of a computer. You can find the complete list of oddities on his website: www.nickwisseman.com As magic awakens in Early America, peoples old and new struggle to adapt.
